Ewan MacColl: The Radio Ballads
In 1957 at the invitation of producer Charles Parker, Ewan and Peggy became involved in a project which was to bring them much renown.
Produced for the BBC, each one-hour Radio-Ballad consisted of recorded actuality from members of the public, a script and songs made by Ewan MacColl, direction and musical arrangements by Peggy Seeger, production and editing by Charles Parker, musical participation by singers and instrumentalists and ingenious procedures innovated by BBC technicians. The final programs were seamless tapestries of speech, sound and song and were considered revolutionary for their time. They opened up new vistas and techniques and changed irrevocably the course of radio documentary in Britain. There were eight broadcast between 1958 and 1964. They are all now available on Topic Records.
1957 The Ballad of John Axon
A true Casey Jones story about a Stockport railwayman. BBC's entry for the 1958 Italia Prize.
songs:
Song of the Iron Road
Fireman's Calypso
The Fireman's Not For Me
(from the play 'You're Only Young Once')
The Ballad of Leisure Time
Train Journey
Runaway Train 1,2 & 3
The Ballad of John Axon
1958 Song of a Road
About the building of Britain's first motorway, the M1.
songs:
Song of a Road
Cats and Back-Acters
The Driver's Song
The Fitter's Song
Come, Me Little Son
Exile Song
Hot Asphalt
The Road is Done
Dig and Scrape and Load
Finishing the Road
1959 Singing the Fishing
Dealing with the herring fishing industry. Winner of the Italia Prize (documentary category) for 1959.
songs:
North Sea Holes
Cabin Boy
Shoals of Herring
Net-Hauling Song
Fishgutters' Song
Fisherman's Wife
We're Awa to Fish For the Herrin'-O
Storm Sequence
1960 The Big Hewer
About Britain's coal miners.
songs:
The Big Hewer
Down in the Dark
Schooldays End
Miner's Wife
There's Changes on the Way
Champion Miner
Danger
Doorboy Song
1961 The Body Blow
The stories of five people with polio. The first of the Radio-Ballads to deal with a non-industrial subject.
songs:
While There's Life There's Hope
The Body Blow
Dependence
I'm Leaving You This Morning
Why Should This Happen to Me?
Rehabilitation
1962 On the Edge
About Britain's teenagers.
songs:
Alone
World Beyond the Wall
Parent and Child
I Think We Should Be Getting Married
We're Young But We're a-Growing
Children of the Troubled World
Time That I Was Going on My Way
1963 The Fight Game
Dealing with professional boxing.
songs:
Life is a Battle
Peter Keenan's Song
When You're a Fighter
Skipping Song
Punching Shanty
Speedball Song
The Boxing Business
Who Would Have a Boxer
The Day of the Fight
The Fight
Man in the Ring
The Battle is Done With
The Fight Game
1964 The Travelling People
About Britain's nomadic peoples.
songs:
Moving On Song
There's No Place for Me
Gypsy Jack of All Trades
The Gypsy is a Gentleman
The Gypsy's Answer
Terror Time
Thirty-Foot Trailer
The Winds of Change
Freeborn Man
1966 Romeo and Juliet
Not a Radio-Ballad but related in terms of radio technique, this was an hour-long modem version of Shakespeare's play, improvised and performed by the London Critics Group. Broadcast by the BBC and produced by Charles Parker.
songs:
Down the Lane
Friday Night
Juliet's Song
After the Weekend It's Monday
Sweet Thames, Flow Softly
Death of Tim and Wizz
A good description of the production of the radio ballads can be found on the Topic Records website
Ewan's detailed description of the production of the radio ballads can be found on Peggy Seeger's website